In the manga industry, artists and editors are more like comrades than coworkers, partners who march together on the same battlefield.
A "veteran" or "renowned" editor isn't defined by how many years they've stayed in the industry, but by how many exceptional works the artists they've guided have created.
And by that standard, Misaki was undeniably one of the standouts in the Hoshimori Group.
Setting aside Rei's Five Centimeters per Second, even the manga she had edited before that were stronger than the works handled by editors with seven or eight years more experience.
Sakura-iro Weekly may have been considered a third-tier magazine, but it still sold 800,000 copies each week. Many magazines in Japan barely reached tens of thousands, some even just a few thousand.
Lament, which Misaki had overseen, had average sales of 400,000 copies per volume. Five Centimeters per Second had already exceeded 550,000 copies since release, and reaching a million this year was almost guaranteed.
But the moment she stepped into the conference room, a chill ran through Misaki's body.
Including herself, nine people were present, meaning nine works were entered into today's Mirage Weekly serialization meeting.
Stacks of thick manuscripts lay in front of each seat, the entries for this round of review.
Every editor present was formidable.
Two had even been responsible for long-running series in Dream Comics.
Against editors like these, Misaki's accomplishments gave her no real advantage.
Then;
A knock came, and Ryouichirō Shidō, one of Hoshimori Group's editorial directors and the editor-in-chief of Mirage Weekly, entered.
His editorial authority applied specifically to Mirage Weekly.
He scanned the room, and his gaze paused briefly on Misaki.
Everyone here knew him well, they had all worked in the same editorial department for years. Their positions varied, but their relationships were close.
He also knew Misaki. She had joined the company only two years ago but already had strong results, and she had previously worked under Kaito at Sakura-iro Weekly.
"Alright, let's begin," Shidō said after clearing his throat.
Serialization meetings for all Hoshimori Group magazines followed the same format:
Editors quickly skimmed the submitted manuscripts, then shared their opinions.
Of course, the opinions of ordinary editors carried little weight, it was merely a way for the editor-in-chief to understand the general sentiment.
In the end, only the editor-in-chief of each publication decided what would be serialized.
At Sakura-iro Weekly, that decision belonged to Director Yanagida.At Mirage Weekly, it belonged to Director Shidō.
Following his cue, the editors picked up the first manuscript and began reading.
Five minutes later, they set it down.
A short round of comments followed.
Then, at Shidō's instruction, they moved on to the second manuscript.
As time passed, Misaki's expression grew more serious.
The submissions were incredibly diverse: Fantasy adventure, Suspense, Horror, Survival, Psychological strategy, Romance.
It was exactly what one expected from a magazine whose weekly sales were more than triple those of Sakura-iro Weekly.
The quality of works eligible for Mirage Weekly's serialization meeting was undeniably higher.
However;
Misaki took a deep breath.
She had complete confidence in Tonight, Even If This Love Vanishes from the World.
In terms of both artwork and storytelling, she firmly believed Rei's manuscript would not lose to any other entry.
An hour passed.
When the editors reached the seventh submission, subtle reactions appeared on their faces.
"Tonight, Even If This Love Vanishes from the World…"
The length of the title wasn't the issue, it was the artwork.
Wasn't this quality far too high?
Just how many nights had this artist sacrificed to produce these few chapters?
They continued reading.
Because of time constraints, only the first three chapters had been submitted.
Five minutes later, several editors reluctantly lowered the pages, clearly wanting more.
"Shirogane?" Director Shidō asked, turning to look at Misaki.
"Someone I've never heard of, Is he a veteran using a new pen name?"
"No," Misaki replied. "He's a completely new manga artist. Still a high school student. This is only his second work."
But the moment she finished speaking, she noticed the slight crease in Director Shidō's brow.
At the same time, several of the other editors joined in.
"He's the author of that ultra-short manga, Five Centimeters per Second, isn't he?"
"Oh, right. That one ended after just five chapters."
"Sure, its collected volume is performing well, honestly, it'll almost certainly break a million copies. But still, this Shirogane has been in the industry for less than half a year. He's a complete newcomer."
The tone of their comments sounded casual, but everyone in the room knew exactly what they were doing.
They were feeding Director Shidō every weakness they could find about Shirogane, the author of Tonight, because, everyone had already realized the same thing:
The manga "Tonight, Even If This Love Vanishes from the World" was too good.
The art was polished and mature. The story, tightly written.
The quality was so high that the only angle left to attack was the author's lack of experience.
Listening to these jabs, Misaki's fingers tightened slightly, and she responded with a calm but cutting remark:
"Didn't mangaka Aira serialize in Monogatari Comic while she was still in high school? And Jian started his hit series in his second year. Nichiya debuted during his first year of university. All of them were serialized in the big six magazines, and all achieved excellent results."
"Do you really think a newcomer like Shirogane can compare to those three?" one editor asked with a polite but mocking smile.
"Why not?" Misaki smiled back.
"Doesn't our group always talk about supporting promising newcomers? Don't we hope to cultivate our own industry stars?"
"Alright, that's enough discussion," Director Shidō interrupted.
"Let's move on to the next entry."
Misaki glanced at him, and in her chest, something quietly tightened.
Another hour passed.
The editors left the meeting room.
Misaki returned to her office and immediately began messaging her contacts inside the editorial department.
By the afternoon, she had learned everything.
Within Hoshimori Group, the two second-tier magazines, Amakage and Mirage Weekly, normally had a gap of several hundred thousand in weekly sales, Mirage Weekly being the stronger.
But recently, two popular series in Mirage Weekly had ended with extremely poor conclusions, triggering massive fan backlash.
Mirage Weekly's sales had fallen from 2.6 million copies per week to 2.3 million.
Meanwhile, Amakage's sales had risen to 1.9 million, thanks to several series entering peak arcs.
And from this information, Misaki could guess Director Shidō's mindset perfectly.
He wasn't looking for brilliance, he wasn't looking for talent.
He was trying to avoid risk.
As the one responsible for Mirage Weekly, Shidō clearly didn't believe that a newcomer like Shirogane, someone who had debuted only months ago and whose entire track record consisted of a five-chapter short, could support a long serialization.
Even though Five Centimeters per Second was almost guaranteed to exceed a million in sales, Shidō didn't value short-story performance.
Short stories were unpredictable. Their popularity was too volatile.
Who knew what would happen with a long-running series?
Mirage Weekly's sales were already faltering.
If they serialized Rei's work and Shirogane proved unable to sustain a mid-to-long serialization, if the story collapsed again, it could deal yet another blow to the magazine's already falling numbers.
"What a short-sighted man." Misaki muttered, irritation quietly intensifying.
Capable leaders welcomed the rise of promising newcomers.
Incapable leaders cared only about avoiding mistakes.
"Fine. Be 'stable,' then," she thought bitterly.
"In this industry, if you don't move forward, you fall behind. Keep clinging to stability… and see what happens when Amakage surpasses your numbers."
Misaki let out a soft sigh.
Even if she understood the situation now, she still had to wait for the results of tomorrow's serialization meeting.
...
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